


Something More Important

by Apollyon (DarklingFyre)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Loki (Marvel), Established Relationship, Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Peter Parker is Trying His Best, Peter Parker is very tired, Possessive Loki (Marvel), Relationship Reveal, Rescue, Secret Relationship, Snark, Soft Loki, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, non-sexy choking, throwaway villain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarklingFyre/pseuds/Apollyon
Summary: When Peter goes missing and the Avengers can't find him, Loki must decide whether he prioritizes the secrecy of his relationship or the happiness of the man he loves.And honestly, it should be obvious.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 21
Kudos: 430





	Something More Important

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me the other day because I was inspired by all those posts about Loki and Peter's relationship. So one one-shot later, we have them meeting for the first time, and we have Peter being both very tired and very smart, and Loki being generally amused by the whole ordeal.  
> And frostiron, because honestly, what else.

_ A lone figure perches high above the sleepless city, even now still bustling with light and life. The people below do not look up, do not see him, but he is there, watching, patrolling, protecting. For he is… _

“Peter?” He jerks with a start out of his fantasy, “The Avengers are wondering when you plan on returning to the tower, and Mr. Stark would like to remind you that staying up late for patrol does not excuse you from school tomorrow.”

“Oh… thanks, Karen.” he thinks for a moment about what he’s seen so far on this rather boring night, it was honestly no wonder his mind had started wandering like it did. “What time is it? ‘Cause it’ll probably take me five-ish minutes to get back and…”

“It is currently 12:35 am,” she replies, but Peter is distracted by a sudden flurry of movement and sound from one of the darker streets.

“We gotta check this out real quick Karen, can you let the team and Mr. Stark know that I’ll be back by 1 at the latest?”

“Sure thing Peter,” she affirmed as the boy swung down to investigate the disturbance.

\---

The first thing Peter is aware of is his throbbing head, but his body works quickly to heal and drag himself out of his stupor so he quickly realizes the throbbing is not only in his head. His entire body aches, he feels weak and unsteady, his mouth is dry beyond belief, and he seems to be chained very securely to a metal chair. Which is probably a good thing, actually, because he feels that without the chair he would be collapsed on the ground instead.

He senses further, past the obfuscating fuzzy tingle dancing across his skin, and finds something in his arm. A needle… IV? Peter finally chances opening his eyes, having heard no sign of any presence, to confirm this. There is indeed a steady stream of something dripping into his body via IV, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Great, that's probably why he feels all weird - they're drugging him.

He looks around his surroundings a bit more. He still has his suit on, thankfully, but it appears to have been shut down and is currently unresponsive. He is currently in a dark dingy room, likely some basement, with the only notable features being a moth-covered old lightbulb and a sturdy door closed opposite him.

Peter goes back to looking at his bindings. They were a thick metal and he had yet to have any luck in even bending them, perhaps he could try to find a structurally weak point and break them off or…?

The door opens, creaking on its hinges.

This is worrying. Because Peter was surprised by it, which means that whatever they have in the IV is affecting him more than he realized, enough to get rid of his spider-sense.

A man steps into the room. He is mostly unremarkable, short greying hair and a standard black suit, but Peter spies the telltale lump of a gun in the man’s waistband and he has spent enough time around Mr. Stark to know a high-quality and expensive suit when he sees one. 

“Spider-boy… what a pleasure to meet you. I hope you are comfortable?”

Peter stares at him. “... is that supposed to be a trick question?”

The man chuckles. “No, I must admit it is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this circumstance. My hand was forced, you see, and as much as it may confuse you I do wish you to be as comfortable as possible during your stay with us.

“Umm thanks Mr. ...? I guess? If you don't mind, what forced your hand?”

“You may call me Monaco, boy, and it was simply the fault of your Mr. Stark’s poor trading, you need not concern yourself with any more than your presence here.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and checked it, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have urgent matters to attend to, nice meeting you,” and he strode back to the door.

“Hey excuse me Mr. Monaco can you tell me what time…” Peter frantically asked, but the door was already closed, and he was alone once more.

Oh, Mr. Stark was going to be  _ so upset. _

\---

Steve burst into the living room, where everyone generally congregated this time of night. “Avengers, we have a problem, Friday, would you explain?”

“Mr. Parker’s suit tracker has just gone offline, and Karen’s last report indicated that he planned to return before 1:00, more than 10 minutes ago. He also indicated that he was checking out a final disturbance before he returned, which may be responsible, but cameras in that area show nothing.”

The atmosphere in the room, previously tired but lighthearted, swiftly soured and grew tense. 

“As of now, Peter is declared missing, and a priority to find. Hawk, Widow, you are both on the first search party, return by 2 am either with the kid or news, and we’ll work from there.”

Natasha and Clint nodded and both ran out of the room, their card game laying unfinished on the table as they geared up and ran into the night.

Steve went to sit with Bruce and Tony to work on finding the kid, but Tony grabbed his coffee and headed towards the door. Presumably to his lab and his suit. Everyone on the team cared for the teen who had joined their ranks, but no one more than Tony. Steve would never say it to his face, but Tony acted downright fatherly around that kid, he was doubtlessly worried out of his mind with the news.

He sighed but said nothing when he noticed Tony snag a bottle from the bar on his way out.

And it had barely been 15 minutes.

\---

Loki teleported into the lab just after 8 am. It was one of the rare mornings where Anthony’s schedule was not only clear but Loki’s presence was encouraged by Pepper (who had found out about their relationship nearly before they did), and he had been planning to take Anthony out to breakfast at a delightful new cafe he had found. Anthony had promised to be awake and had told Loki to meet him in his lab for their outing, something they had both been looking forward to.

However, his plans were shattered from the moment he arrived in the lab and took stock of the situation.

A stench of alcohol hung over the room, mixing uncomfortably with the lab’s usually calming background ambiance. The lab was also mostly dark, the shades were down and the only light was coming from the usual clutter of projects around the room and the glowing screens in the center. It was also almost completely silent, with none of Anthony’s favored music blasting from the speakers.

But the most distressing sight was the figure collapsed on the desk in the center, quietly sobbing.

Loki stepped carefully closer to the man, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the nearly empty bottle still clutched in his hand, and places a hand on his shoulder.

“Anthony, dearest, what is the matter?”

Tony blinks blearily and raises his head up from his arms, reddened eyes and puffy and stained with tears. “Lo…?”

Loki reaches down to cup his face in his hands, and he leans into the gentle touch.

Tony, for his part, is completely content to sit like that for eternity, but as his mind starts to pull back from the intense fog that had been forming for the past seven hours, he recalls the reason Loki had shown up.

“Oh… sorry Lokes, something came up,” he stumbles out, “sorry, I know you probably don't care, but Pet… Spiderman’s been… missing since last night…”

Loki’s face softened further at that. Despite their efforts to keep their respective lives separate, it was easy to see how much Anthony’s protegee meant to him. This would explain the scene before him then, Tony was worried.  _ Very _ worried.

“It’s alright Anthony, I’m sure your young spiderling is fine, you have often spoken of his strength and resilience, have you not? You, however, are merely mortal and need rest.”

“But he needs me…” Anthony pleaded.

“Yes, he does, but you are of no use to him like this.” He bent down and picked up the man, cradling him against his chest as he brought him to the worn couch in the corner of the room. Loki sat down and lay him down with his head resting him his lap. “Rest now, Anthony, I’m here, you’re safe.”

Tony settled down and quickly fell into a restless doze, his many hours without sleep catching up to him at last. When Loki found that he was asleep, he extracted himself from the couch, leaving behind a double of himself to remain as Starks pillow and guard. He looked down fondly for a moment, before removing the rest of the alcohol from Anthony’s hand and disappearing from the room.

\---

After leaving the lab, and with a bit of help from Friday, Loki teleports to the room the spider child had in the tower. It is the work of moments to locate his hairbrush, and with it many short brown hairs. Loki teleports back to his apartment with the brush.

The tracking spell is another simple matter. A couple of sigils drawn on his floor, a few crystals, and a single hair, and within seconds he had the location of the boy. He chuckled to himself quietly, as much as he admired Anthony’s Midgardian technology, there were instances such as this where nothing could compare to the effectiveness of magic.

He grips the crystal with the information of the boy’s location tightly in hand and casts his mind out along the thin line that led to him. He finds him in a deep basement, many layers beneath the streets, and accessible only through a winding underground base. The boy is wearing his recognizable red costume and is securely chained to a chair. And, he realizes to his horror, the spiderling is being drugged. The IV in his arm is evidently limiting his abilities, and Loki is  _ furious _ . He walks his consciousness out of the room, seething, and follows the trail of guards to some sort of conference room, where he finds the man likely in charge of this whole disaster shouting at some underlings. He seems vaguely familiar, a businessman Anthony knew? Perhaps. He was initially just angry at this man for bringing harm to his dearest, but the idea of limiting someone’s natural abilities, even just a mortal? He cannot stand for that, no that hits a little too close to home.

This means war.

Loki has materialized behind the leader and thrown him against the wall before he can draw a breath. Which is unfortunate, because with Loki pinning him to the wall by his neck, he missed his last chance to breathe, likely ever. Several moments later, the rest of the mortals in the room process what has happened, and begin shooting at him, despite obviously knowing both  _ who _ he is and how useless bullets are  _ against _ him. Doubles appear around the room and in few more seconds, everyone else in the room slumps to the floor with their throats slit. It's been only around 10 seconds since he arrived, but many more than that since the man he still has pinned against the wall -  _ Monaco _ , he learns - has taken a breath, and as a result, he has started to struggle and turn red.

“Monaco,” he begins, facing him with a cold glare (not his coldest, he isn't nearly worth that) “You took something important. Something of mine.” Which is the truth, he thinks, as Anthony is  _ his _ , and the spiderling is Anthony’s, so, therefore, the boy is his as well.

Monaco is still struggling to breathe, and so does not reply.

“This is for your treatment of the spider-child,” Loki continues, still maintaining his control over Monaco’s airway, “You took away his natural abilities, so it is only fair that I deprive you of yours, namely,” he grins, “breathing.”

Monaco begins struggling wildly, as it has now been about 90 seconds since he has taken a breath. He still says nothing, for obvious reasons.

Finally, Monaco collapses in Loki’s grip, unconscious from asphyxiation. Lacking the patience to continue strangling an unconscious man, Loki simply crushes his throat in his grip.

Monaco is dead 3 minutes later, but by then Loki has long left the room.

Loki is, instead, disposing of every other guard in this pitiful excuse for a secret base. He wields his knives with expert precision and bodies fall before him. He has almost returned to where he started, and is outside the room where the child was being held.

A spark of green magic unlocks the door, and he walks in.

\---

Peter is very tired.

That's not a surprise given that he’s a high schooler; he hasn’t slept since like 4 am the previous day, and that was barely more than 3 hours anyway. Also, he’s really bored as the guards he can hear outside haven’t talked to him since that Monaco guy came in, and the drugs still dripping into his arm are making him feel weaker. And he’s not  _ stupid _ , he's not going to sleep now, even if he really wants to. He's just really tired.

Which is why he’s fairly certain it's another sleep-deprivation related hallucination when he begins to hear suddenly cut off shouts and screams from outside.

But when the sounds keep getting closer he considers the possibility that the Avengers went out looking for him and found him, even though his suits disabled. He’s hesitant about this though because he doesn’t hear any other sounds which would specify the Avengers, no one shouting his name, for one. And no explosions, for two.

He holds his breath as the sounds arrive outside the door.

And someone walks in and  _ yes, this has to be a hallucination because what I see cannot be real. _

Because what Peter sees is Loki, God of Lies and Chaos, principle enemy of the Avengers, standing in full, blood-soaked, battle armor in front of him.

_ Yea No definitely not real. _

Because while he had no doubt that Loki  _ could  _ slaughter his way through everyone in this complex, he had  _ no idea _ why he  _ would _ .

“You are the Spiderling?” Not-Loki asks.

Peter blinks. “...uhhh Spiderman, yea, and you are not Loki, obviously, but you’re a high-quality hallucination if I’ve ever seen one.”

This seems to take Not-Loki by surprise. Though, Peter thinks, it would be surprising to have your existence as a hallucination revealed to you.

“You think me an illusion.” Not-Loki says, “why?”

“Well you’re Loki, obviously, and I’m having a bit of trouble rationalizing the idea of a hallucination getting rid of all my guards unless that was a hallucination too, but the main problem is that there is  _ absolutely no explanation _ for why  _ Loki _ , of all people...gods, would  _ save me _ .”

“Your theory is admirable, little spider, even though it is wrong.” Not-Loki smiles and walks closer, “Because,” he snaps his fingers and suddenly both the chains and the IV are  _ gone _ , and oh god Peter feels so much better, “I  _ am _ Loki, and I am here to save you.”

Peter stares up at Loki - because it  _ is _ Loki, no matter what he thinks, because whatever happened the chains and IV are gone and even though he has quite a lot of practice hallucinating, he can’t hallucinate  _ that _ . “...youre Loki.”

“Yes.” he seems rather amused.

“Loki, ancient-immortal Norse God and the best mischief-maker New York has ever seen, and,” he swallows, “the chief enemy of the Avengers.”

“You are correct, little spider, does that worry you?”

“...well I’m an Avenger, too…”

“I am aware, and I am here nonetheless. Now,” he holds out a hand, “will you come with me?”

And this is conflicting. On one hand,  _ Loki _ , and all that entails, on the other, well, Loki said he was here to save him. But again,  _ Loki. _

_ Better the devil you know _ , a little voice chimes in, it sounds suspiciously like Mr. Stark, and Peter is reminded that by the Avengers records, Loki hasn’t launched a serious attack on the city for several years.

He takes Loki’s hand.

And promptly falls on his ass.

Because they had … teleported?  _ Teleported! _ And Peter had still been sitting, and then they had left the chair behind and, well. Peter thinks he even sees a brief smirk on Loki’s face. 

Then he looks around and there’s another shock, because they’re in Mr. Stark’s lab. The lab with all of the oh-so-familiar machines and experiments and odds and ends. The lab.  _ Home. _

“Welcome back, Mr. Parker, I am glad to see you return safe and well.”

“Thanks, Friday, I’m glad to be back too…” He trails off when he notices that Loki has left, walking over to the back corner where the cou…

_ Crap, right,  _ Loki _. yea. _

He jumps up and rushes over to the god and the figure coming into his view on the couch. In all honesty, he’s not  _ that _ worried, since Loki saved him (right?) and all, and this is the Avengers tower aka the most well-defended building in the world, and Friday’s watching, and Loki isn't even carrying a weapon, and…

Oh, whatever! He's not worried, fine, just very confused and taking precautions. Also, he’s glad to see Mr. Stark again.

He stops next to Loki, who is standing a few feet away from a very hungover and very asleep Tony Stark. And Loki, the scary intimidating god  _ Loki _ , looks… fond?

But why…?

And the pieces slot together in his head: Loki’s less-than-villainous behavior lately, the finding-and-saving of him, being here, Friday not raising the alarm, the  _ look? _

Oh.

_ Ooohhhhhhh…  _

Peter’s eyes widen considerably, which Loki catches, obviously, and then Peter is being affixed with of the most cold and serious glares he’s ever been pinned by, even beating out Cap and Aunt May on their  _ bad days _ . But the fondness, the little chip in Loki’s armor, remains, and he is not afraid.

“I care about Anthony and his happiness more than anything,” Loki tells him, “ _ anything, _ even if it means revealing something I had requested be kept secret. Do you understand?”

Mr. Stark had mentioned in passing once that everything Loki ever said had at least three, if not more, meanings behind it, and that he would never say anything that wasn't necessary. Peter thought he got about 80% of all the meanings, all of the details that Loki would not spell out for him unnecessarily. And maybe that wasn't perfect, but 80% was passing, so… “I understand”

He could just clarify with Mr. Stark later, anyways.

\---

Loki was 80% sure the child got all of his meanings. Which was still 80% higher than most, especially Thor. Anthony had said the child was smart. And as far as Loki knew, he didn't seem half bad. (Which, from Loki, was high praise indeed.)

Loki stepped forward and knelt by Anthony’s head. He placed a hand on the side of the mortals face, using a small bit of magic to cure his hangover in the process, and gently shook him awake.

“Uuuhhhhh… Loki…?” was the groggy man’s first words as he rejoined the world of the living.

“Good afternoon Love, how do you feel?”

It was then that the memories of what had happened when Loki first showed up in the lab flooded to the surface, and Stark groaned, raising his hands to cover his face.

That was when he noticed a small figure waving energetically from behind Loki.

“Wait, Loki,” he finally spoke, willing his eyes to focus, “no, did you…” and a smile that could rival the sun broke out upon his face.

“Mr. Stark!” the spider child exulted as he rushed closer, “Mr. Loki came and rescued me, I’m all right, I’m so glad to see you!” 

Loki finds himself being pressed into a hug along with the child. He notices that Anthony is crying again, but this time, he notices with a smile, from joy. Anthony is happy again, and that is all that matters.

“Thank you, Loki.” he hears, and everything is once again perfect.

\---

They are finally having their long-awaited date at the Cafe, even if breakfast has turned into 4 pm.

“So… Peter… does he…” Tony begins hesitantly, when he returns with their coffee and tea.

“He knows.”

“And did you…”

“Yes, I explained.”

They sit for a moment, sipping their drinks, considering the news, and relishing the ability to have a fully understood conversation with so few words. It is peaceful.

Tony breaks it. “That kid, as much as I love him, cannot keep a secret for the life of him.”

Loki smirks, “Takes after you in that regard, does he?”

“Unfortunately,” he sighs, “So we…”

“We’ll have to tell them on our own terms, yes.”

“And you…?”

“Yes, ill be fine, I accepted the inevitable as soon as we started dating, I simply wished to postpone it.”

Anthony nods, considering. Then he sets his mug down and reaches for a napkin and pen. “We’ll have to start planning our reveal then, I’m thinking something big and flashy, impossible to miss!”

“Go big or go home,” Loki agrees, leaning towards the napkin.

“Exactly,” Tony continues, and they smile.

“Now one idea I have…”

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways, hope y'all like this, I'm rather proud of it for it being banged out in a few hours yesterday.  
> I blame the wonderful response on my last fic for the motivation I have to write and post this. So as always, comments with ideas feedback and love are greatly appreciated. gotta get me that dopamine fix.  
> Toodles!


End file.
